The Hanoi Hilton

HANOI – Whether at the five-star Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel, located beside this city’s Opera House, or the infamous war-era prison dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton” by American POWs captured by the North, the crowds of foreign visitors in this Vietnamese capital are enviable.

While the Philippines slipped five notches to 79th place in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017 drawn up by the World Economic Forum, Vietnam improved by eight places, ranking 67th among 136 countries and territories.

The biggest improvement for Vietnam was in terms of security and safety perception – the area that pulled down the Philippines’ ranking. Vietnam jumped by 18 notches to 57th place, garnering the best rating overall in the sub-section on terrorism incidence, with a stable political condition.

And the general safety is evident here. On Black Saturday my mom and I toured Hanoi’s Old Quarter on a “cyclo” – the three-wheeled bicycle taxi that is a good way to explore the narrow streets and look at the shop-houses for at least an hour at walking speed, minus the physical exertion.

We never worried about snatchers, although we were concerned about being hit by the numerous motorcycles and cars. Our guide, whose English nickname is Rocky, had reassured us at the start of our Holy Week vacation that Hanoi is one of the safest cities on the planet.

Driving to the limestone islands in Halong Bay outside Hanoi, among the most noticeable features of the typical “tube houses” with narrow frontage and an average of three to five stories were the verandas on every upper floor. Obviously the Vietnamese have no problems with akyat-bahay or burglary.

Vietnam has its peace and order problems, including drug trafficking, extortion and other organized criminal activities. In this city we were also advised to hold on to our personal belongings at the crowded Dong Xuan market in the Old Quarter, similar to the 168 shopping mall in Divisoria. But generally, the ordinary Vietnamese – and foreign visitors – need not worry about muggers, snatchers or Abu Sayyaf-type kidnappers.

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The assurance of personal safety, apart from the cultural and natural attractions, has to be among the reasons why Vietnam had over 10 million foreign visitors in 2016 – 26 percent higher than in the previous year, and about double what the Philippines drew.

This year, from January to March, Vietnam has already received over 3.2 million foreign travelers – up 29 percent over the same period in 2016, with over a million visiting last month.

Since we checked in early Thursday at the Hilton Hanoi Opera, the hotel has teemed with foreigners – Caucasians, Japanese, Koreans and even Chinese, despite their maritime feud with the Vietnamese.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay alone gets an average of 10,000 foreign visitors daily, Rocky told us. Holy Week is no holiday in this communist country, whose population is predominantly atheist, but it seemed like peak travel season anyway in Halong.

You can see how tourism drives economic growth. The boats in the bay were fully booked. The touristy sites such as the pearl farm on the way to the bay and a shop showcasing made-in-Vietnam specialty products were also full of visitors.

Hanoi is the jump-off point for many tourist destinations. Hotels in the capital, from tiny backpacker hostels to five-star accommodations, are doing brisk business.

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Looking at the throngs of people around serene Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of this city, it’s difficult to believe that Vietnam’s brutal armed conflict ended only four decades ago.

Apart from visitors’ personal safety that the communist government can guarantee, infrastructure has to be a contributing factor. Roads are being constructed or widened, energizing the countryside and making more travel destinations accessible.

We entered Vietnam through Terminal 2 of Noi Bai International Airport, which was opened in December 2014 after just three years of construction. That pace will be a miracle in our country, where it seems every major government infrastructure project gets snagged in a corruption scandal.

In January 2015, the Vietnamese government complemented the new airport terminal with the opening of a 12-kilometer-long, six-lane modern highway named after another national hero, General Vo Nguyen Giap. Connecting the airport to the city center through the new Nhat Tan Bridge spanning the Red River, the highway cuts travel time between Hanoi and the airport to just 20 minutes.

Cebu Pacific is the only carrier that flies directly from Manila to Hanoi. Our flight on Wednesday night began boarding and pushed out of the gate at NAIA Terminal 3 on time. But we sat on the runway for about half an hour, waiting for our turn to take off, so we arrived a bit late in this Vietnamese capital.

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Our private sector is trying its best, but without the supporting infrastructure, we will likely be left behind soon even by Cambodia, which was behind us in the latest tourism competitiveness index.

And I’m not referring only to roads. On the four-hour drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay, Rocky enjoyed seamless video calls with his wife and their firstborn, a seven-month-old daughter.

Vietnam, according to recent reports, has nearly four times more telecommunications sites than the Philippines. The results show in the high-speed mobile and internet services.

And Vietnam continues to improve its connectivity, whether in terms of telecommunications, land transport or air travel. Because of the popularity of Halong Bay for tourism, the government is said to be studying the construction of an airport to serve Halong City.

Vietnam is drawing visitors even from countries with which it used to be at war. You hear their languages spoken as they sip egg coffee in the cafés around Hoan Kiem Lake, at the mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh is venerated like a saint by locals, and even at the Hanoi Hilton where war atrocities committed by the French and then the Americans on the Vietnamese are documented.

Touring the Hanoi Hilton, you wonder why a country that has been at war for decades is beating us in terms of tourism.

Vietnam has its minuses while the Philippines has inherent strengths, and we can catch up in tourism competitiveness – if we exert more effort.

We’re trying, but others are leaving no room for complacency and are trying better.